El Al crisis ends

Management and the Histadrut have said that agreement has been reached over the status and pay of pilots aged 65-67.

The crisis at El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) has ended both the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) and the carrier's management have confirmed. The pilots have yet to make any official announcement.

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According to a statement from Histadrut chairman Avi Nissenkorn, after talks through the night El Al's management and pilots reached agreement and worded a memorandum of understanding on the issues that had been in dispute. The sides will reconvene this morning to tweak some of the legal finer points.

El Al's management and pilots had signed a new employment agreement in December, which ended a round of sanctions back then. But earlier this month a dispute broke out over the role, status and pay of pilots aged 65-67 who are unable to fly passenger jets because they are over 65 but are below the Israeli legal retirement age of 67. As result the pilots again took industrial action and many flights were canceled. The matter went to the Labor Court where the sides were ordered to conduct intensive negotiations to swiftly resolve the dispute.

It has been agreed that the pilots aged 65-67 will continue to receive a basic salary of NIS 50,000 per month and conduct 10 training sessions each month for an additional fee of NIS 1,000-1,100 per session. 15-20 pilots will take early retirement and receive a grant of NIS 500,000-600,000.

Nissenkorn told Army Radio (Galei Zahal), "I don't believe there will be problems about signing the agreement. And if there are then we'll solve them."